Fired admiral gives public apology

November 20, 1995
Web posted at: 10:10 a.m. EST (1510 GMT)

TOKYO (CNN) -- The U.S. Navy admiral who announced plans
to retire after touching off outrage with his off-the-cuff
remark about the rape of a Japanese schoolgirl spoke out
again Sunday, but this time Richard Macke was apologetic.

"My comments were insensitive and offensive," he said.

In his original comments to reporters last Friday, Macke,
U.S. commander of Pacific forces, had suggested the three
U.S. servicemen accused of the crime and now on trial in
Okinawa should have paid for a prostitute instead of raping
the 12-year-old girl. After saying military officials had
found nothing in the background of the three accused
servicemen to suggest they would commit such a crime, he
said, "I think it was absolutely stupid. I have said several
times: for the price they paid to rent the car (used in the
crime), they could have had a girl".

After the angry reaction he issued an apologetic statement,
but the outrage did not die and the four-star admiral with 35
years in the military announced his retirement the same day.

But his resignation and continued apologies (213K AIFF sound or 213K WAV sound) may not be enough
for Japanese demanding the removal of 47,000 U.S. troops
stationed in Japan. Officially, the arrangement is highly
valued by the governments of both countries. But Japanese
Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama in recent days stressed the
seriousness of the situation to visiting U.S. Vice President
Al Gore. "We would like to have an in-depth discussion on
realignment and consolidation of U.S. military facilities in
Okinawa," Murayama said.

Gore acknowledged that the crime has frayed U.S.-Japan
relations and announced the creation of a task force to look
into anti-American resentment in Japan. The panel has been
given a one-year mandate to identify specific problems and
suggest solutions. But the presence of Gore was, in itself,
an irritant to the tense relations. He was a last-minute
replacement for U.S. President Bill Clinton, who canceled his
visit because of a budget dispute with the U.S. Congress.
That left many Japanese wondering how highly Washington
values its relations with Tokyo.

In the rape trial, one of the three accused U.S. servicemen,
Navy Seaman Marcus D. Gill, 22, has admitted in court that he
raped the girl. Two Marines pleaded guilty to assault and
abduction but denied taking part in the rape. The girl was
abducted on September 4 in a rental car.